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Celebrating the Restoration Day 5: The Book of Mormon as the Handbook of Church Administration

Replica of an 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon. Photo by Jasmin Gimenez Rappleye.
Submitted by Jack Welch on April 3, 2020.
On the final day of this week, I hope you will take a few minutes to appreciate the array of administrative patterns and guidelines found in the Book of Mormon. While this sacred record contains lots of inspiring doctrines, faithful histories, genuine spiritual experiences, and elegant expressions of profound truths, the Book of Mormon also contains a surprisingly vast array of instructions for...

Celebrating the Restoration Day 4: Timing the Translation of the Book of Mormon

Peter Whitmer cabin in Fayette, New York. Photo by runt35 via Wikimedia Commons.
Submitted by Jack Welch on April 2, 2020.
For a further analysis of the question, how long it took for Joseph to translate the Book of Mormon, see my recent article, “ Timing the Translation of the Book of Mormon: ‘Days [and Hours] Never to Be Forgotten ,’” BYU Studies Quarterly 57 no. 4 (2018): 10–50. Amazingly, the translation of the Book of Mormon as we now have it took less than 65 actual days of translating. That is a lot...

Celebrating the Restoration Day 3: Differences and Similarities in the First Vision Accounts

Image from Ask of God: Joseph Smith's First Vision. Image via ChurchofJesusChrist.org
Submitted by Jack Welch on April 1, 2020.
The article for today goes farther than any other publication in analyzing the elements mentioned by Joseph Smith in his accounts of his First Vision. The chapter below builds on an article published in 1970 by Professor James B. Allen in the official Church magazine, The Improvement Era. This chapter discusses in detail how the differences in these accounts can be understood. A first...

Celebrating the Restoration Day 2: Accounts of the First Vision

The Sacred Grove. Photo by Ken Lund via Flickr.
Submitted by Jack Welch on March 31, 2020.
How many accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision in 1820 are there? Their sheer number can make things confusing. But the below article by Dean C. Jessee can be very helpful in answering this question. Reading the full texts of this whole collection of First Vision accounts was for me a powerful spiritual experience. The impact of these original writings is immeasurable. I recommend reading them...

Celebrating the Restoration Day 1: Seeing the Hand of God in History

Figure of Christ by Heinrich Hoffman and Portrait of Joseph Smith likely by William Warner Major. Images via Wikmedia Commons.
Submitted by Jack Welch on March 30, 2020.
Twenty-five years ago, I was deeply struck, seeing up close many striking details present in the rise of Christianity two thousand years ago with parallels in the rise of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ two hundred years ago. At that time, I was teaching a course at BYU on Masada and the world of the New Testament. At the same, I was editing BYU Studies and Church history...

Ancient Perspectives on Enos, Jarom, Omni, and Words of Mormon

Digital Paintings of Enos, Jarom, Omni, and Words of Mormon by Normandy Poulter and the BYU Virtual Scriptures Group.
Submitted by Neal Rappleye on March 26, 2020.
Cross-posted from Studio et Quoque Fide. This week for Come, Follow Me , we study the short series of books filling in the gap between Nephi and Jacob (both members of the founding generation of Nephites) and King Benjamin (who reigned about 476 years after Lehi left Jerusalem). Naturally, we would all love to have more information about this period in between. It’s impossible...

ScripturePlus now available on Amazon Kindle

Screen of ScripturePlus on Amazon kindle showing Mosiah 1 and Jacob 5
Submitted by Scripture Central on March 19, 2020.
Book of Mormon Central is very pleased to announce that ScripturePlus is now available for download for Amazon Kindle devices , in addition to Android and iOS . Our development team has been working very hard to be able to release this app to the rest of our audience. With home-centered church, deeply engaging with the scriptures is more important than ever before. We hope that users of all ages...

Podcast episode on Nephi’s Temple

Aerial view of Tel Motza and drawing of Nephi's Temple by Jody Livingston.
Submitted by Stephen Smoot on March 18, 2020.
Cross-posted from Book of Mormon History . In this new episode of the Book of Mormon History podcast, BMC associate Stephen Smoot discusses the new archaeological discovery of an ancient temple within four miles of Jerusalem with independent Book of Mormon researcher Joshua Gehly. Stephen provides his reasons for a historical approach to the Book of Mormon and...